When you cannot have deep-fried bhajias or pakoras...

What do you make when you have  2 pounds of yellow Ontario grown organic potatoes in your pantry and you have a craving for Bhajias or pakoras. The down side being that you stay away from deep frying in your home for health reasons and for that vain fantasy that you will someday recapture a "youthful" figure from days long gone by ! While deep fried foods remain unrivaled for their unique delivery, they are not always the healthiest choice and I for one cannot stop at just "one" biteful.
I tried this substitute which was ready for tea-time and turned out quite wholesome and satisfying. My husband the taste tester ate them faster than I could shovel them out of the baking trays.
  Please feel free to add a comment below if you have visited this blog. I look forward to your visiting remarks.

Ingredients

approx 2 pounds of potatoes sliced (keep in a bowl of water till ready for use)
1 cup milk or water
1 cup besan or gram flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
a pinch of baking soda
1 green chilly
1/2 inch grated or finely chopped ginger
1 small onion finely minced
a handful of fresh green coriander chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 450 F
Mix milk with salt, cumin, ground coriander and whisk to mix.
Add the besan flour and whisk.
Finally add the fresh ginger, onion and green chilly and fresh coriander. Mix well. The batter should be of a thick consistency so it will hold onto the potatoes. Do not make the batter runny or too dry.
Dry the potatoes on a paper towel.
Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, and spray with oil.
Dip one slice of potato at a time in the batter and lay on the baking tray.  When finished, spray the potatoes lightly with oil and place in the oven for 15 to twenty minutes until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, and have a nice brownish finish.
Serve warm with a tamarind chutney, or a nice hot sauce (sriracha is my favorite)

Note: This recipe can be used for any other vegetables like peppers, cauliflower etc.

Servings: 6-8
Nutritional value based on 6 servings: Calories: 195 , Total fat 2g, Cholesterol 0.8 mg, sodium 415.5 mg, carbohydrates 36.6 g (dietary fiber 4.9 g), Protein 5.2 g